The city of Sammamish debuted its Virtual Town Hall on the city’s website on Wednesday.

The city bills the Virtual Town Hall as an online forum for civic engagement. Users may read what others are saying about important Sammamish topics and then post their own statements. City officials will read the statements and incorporate them into their decision process.

“At a typical City Council meeting, we hear public comment from just seven or eight people,” City Manager Lyman Howard stated in an online introduction. “While we greatly appreciate and value their perspectives, we would love to hear from a broader range of residents, including those who are too busy – or too shy – to appear in front of the Council television cameras.”

Topics the city plans to cover include growth, transportation and recreation.

The Virtual Town Hall is run by Peak Democracy, a nonpartisan company whose mission is to broaden civic engagement and build public trust in government. Users will be asked for their name and home address upon posting their first statement. According to the Virtual Town Hall ‘About’ page, Peak Democracy will keep user information confidential per its privacy agreement.

To take part in the city’s first survey on how Sammamish can improve its communication, visit www.peakdemocracy.com/3838.

For more, contact the city’s Communications Manager Tim Larson at tlarson@sammamish.us or at 425-295-0555.